Vikings great Page pens kids' book about odd pinky

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pro football Hall of Famer and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page has written a children's book about his odd pinky, a finger that's permanently bent outward at a 90-degree angle.

The book, which will be released next week, is called "Alan and His Perfectly Pointy, Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky," KARE-TV reported (http://kare11.tv/X4uTTe ).

The former NFL MVP says children always want to know what happened to the finger.

"It does make a good story," said Page, who decided the story would be good enough to read about. He and his daughter, Kamie Page, wrote the book to help raise money for the Page Education Foundation, which has helped thousands of kids attend college over the last 25 years.

The pinky has been dislocated and reset several times. Page recalled one game when he showed his injured pinky to Vikings teammate Jim Marshall.

"He says, 'What's your problem?' I sort of whimpered and showed him my finger and he says, 'What's wrong with that? Give me your hand.' I gave him my hand and he yanked it back into place," Page said.

The book will be released April 6 at the education foundation's 25th anniversary benefit gala at Target Field.

Page has been a state Supreme Court justice for the past 20 years. While in the NFL, he played for both the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears. The Page Education Foundation provides money for young scholars and requires them to give back to the educational community.